The Next Great Adventure
by xxTenezMoixx
Summary: The final battle, it's prices, and how Harry feels about family. SemiAngst. T because I said so. Semidrabble...


Sacrificial Love. That was my very meaning of existence. My mother sacrificed herself for me that night sixteen years ago, willingly, and that bought me my life. I never knew what a family was until I was twelve. I had seen the Durselys, but that gave me a twisted idea of family. I didn't want that, so sometimes I thought I was just a bit lucky not to have Mum and Dad. Only sometimes. Those were the times where I was locked in my cabinet with little to no food for days. I thought family was evil. The Weasleys changed that for me. They say the owe me everything, but it's backwards. I owe them everything. My love for life, my happiness, my sanity.

Ginevra Weasley fawned over me since before my first year. I was too young to notice girls then, I still thought they had cooties. But as I matured, thankfully, Ginevra did not lose interest, and I was able to eventually wake up and realize I returned her love. She's been patient with me all along, and I owe her much. She is my soulmate, my other half.

Ronald Weasley the first friend I ever made, and we've only ever had one argument. He's been my right hand through everything, from giant chess boards to sixty-foot-long serpents to werewolves, all the way to the final Horcrux and now. He's been there. And he hasn't faltered one bit. I once told him he could turn back if he wanted, it wasn't too late. That was first year. I don't think he'll ever turn away now. He is my brother.

Fred and George Weasley were two people I always really looked up to. They were able to go through anything together, they were invincible, and at the same time, made others laugh. It's a gift, really, bringing laughter to the world in times of darkness. It was their idea to rescue me from the Dursley's just before my second year. They are my cousins.

Percival Weasley was never exactly my favorite. He appeared stiff, and almost ambitious enough to be a Slytherin. However, in the final battle, it was he who cast a cutting curse at Fenrir Greyback who was right behind me while I dueled with Dead Lord Voldemold. Especially because no one expected him to fight with us. He is my uncle.

Charles Weasley and I only met a few times, he was very engrossed in his work. It paid off in the end. He came into the final battle on top of a somewhat tame Horntail, and burned countless Inferi and Death Eaters. Charles later told me that dragon had been the daughter of the one I fought in my fourth year. Ironic how that can happen sometimes. He is my cousin.

William Weasley and I met nearly as often as Charles and I did. William was also very engrossed in his work, and it paid off when he gave Ronald, Hermione and I a crash course in cursebreaking. It saved our lives several times. He is my cousin.

Arthur Weasley welcomed me with open arms. His home was always open to me, and I always had a bed and food when I came. He didn't have much, but what he did have, he shared generously with me when I came. He protected me many times, and always put his family first. I'm honored to say he included me. He is my father.

Molly Weasley always cared for me, fed me, and gave me a bed. She was there when I needed her. When I was in my fourth year, about to face that maze, it was she who came to cheer me on, as if I were one of her own. I will never forget her love and compassion as long as I live. She is my mother.

My entire family was there at the final battle. They all fought like the true Gryffindors they are. When I was off researching for Horcruxes, I discovered a beautiful truth. The Weasleys were descendants of Godric Gryffindor himself. Rub that into Malfoy's face and laugh about it. The Malfoys, it turns out, are direct descendants of one of Godric Gryffindor's scullery maids.

However, all my family did not come home, and those that did all suffered something.

Ginevra nearly lost our unborn child who was only less than a month old. Thank Merlin for the superb Healers at St. Mungo's.

Ronald nearly lost Hermione. She had been struck with the same curse when we were in the Department of Mysteries in my fifth year. Only this time, the words were spoken, intensifying the spell. She was out cold for a month.

Only half of Fred and George came home. Fred was tortured with the Cruciatus beyond insanity. To death. George came home with a few minor cuts, and he didn't forgive himself for months. He is still very sensitive, his brother was his other half.

Percival didn't come home either. immediately after killing Fenrir with that well placed cutting curse, he was struck down by an Inferi. We never found his body, but, amazingly, we found his engagement ring to Penelope Clearwater. We never found her, either, but we found her glasses.

Charles also didn't come home. He was kidnapped by Severs Snape and tortured by Dead Lord Voldemold for information. I'm told all Charles did was laugh, and his last words were, "Death is but the next great adventure." It was amazing, throwing Dumbledore's words at him.

William came home, but he was even more damaged than he was after the Battle of the High Tower. That's what they named the battle at Hogwarts, you know. He was attacked by Fenrir again, and fought down eight Inferi. Defeating Inferi was supposed to be impossible. I guess it's not for a cursebreaker. It took him two weeks to get his magical reserve back up, and now he slightly resembles Alastor Moody, but is still not a werewolf.

Arthur might have had it the worst of all. He lost three sons. All his middle children. In a way, he even lost George. George went back to school, gave up the joke shop, and got a job in the Department of Mysteries. However, Arthur lost something else. He lost his soulmate.  
What did Molly lose? Apart from her life, she lost her family, her home, everything she had once loved. Even in the last war, she lost family. But she was still vital to my success.

When I was dueling Lord Voldemold, we were circling around each other, and firing some nasty curses at each other. Lord Voldemold threw "Crucio!" at me, possibly over seventy times, before he got annoyed and started casting the Killing Curse at random. Those can't be blocked, and I kept summoning things to create a barrier between me and the curse. Dead bodies, fallen tree trunks, anything I could. Eventually, everything was shattered. There were no more dead bodies to summon, or tree trunks to beckon. I resorted to ducking and jumping and dodging as quickly as I could. By this time, the battlefield was deserted, save us. All the wounded were being cared for, all the dead were carried away and identified, and all the others were consoling each other. But seven came back.

Molly, Arthur, Ginevra, Ronald, George, and William Weasley, along with Hermione Granger, came back. They watched. They hissed and Voldemold, and quietly praised me. Just like at the graveyard. And at the most inopportune time, I tripped on a root.

Voldemold immediately seized this opportunity, and was instantly over me with his wand. My brother wand. I thought it was over, I had failed, but it was the protection of a loving mother that saved me.

Molly Weasley came between me and that wand. And that wand's holder mercilessly cast the evil curse anyways. Molly Weasley may not have been my blood mother, but she was mother in all other emotions, and nearly the same thing happened. Voldemold cast her fallen body aside and advanced on me again. I smiled as he raised his wands and uttered the curse again. The curse came within six inches of my chest, stopped, and bounced back, hitting a wide-eyed Voldemold.

And as Voldemold lay on the ground, litterally burning in his own hate, (Who knew hate could magically ignite and become solid?) Fawkes came out of no where. I hadn't seen him since Dumbledore's funeral, but he came back. I happened to be talking to Voldemold the same way Dumbledore had, and using the same words Dumbledore had. I called him by his birth name, and other things like that. Dumbledore had told me that extreme loyalty would bring Fawkes to me. I suppose death cannot stop true love, loyalty, and magic. Afterall, death is but the next great adventure. 


End file.
